1.
“Mechanisms of Control,” March 25–April 7
Kerry Howley investigated the “private and public seductions” of podcaster Andrew Huberman, a prominent pop neuroscientist, for New York’s latest cover story. Researcher Cécile Simmons called it a “remarkable piece of reporting,” noting, “Biohackers and tech bros’ obsessive self-control is often about controlling others, specifically the women in their lives.” Writer Tom Gara observed, “This article shows Andrew Huberman to be a huge dirtbag and very dishonorable in his treatment of women, although its description of his management of a five-simultaneous-girlfriends situation doesn’t dispel his reputation for extreme productivity/focus.” Reporter Molly Taft liked that “the women wronged by this man have bonded together and maintain a lively and supportive group chat.” “Oh my god, 5 women pulled a straight up John Tucker Must Die on him,” joked writer Katie Notopoulos. Others labeled the story gossipy and wondered why Huberman’s personal life should have any bearing on his career. Podcaster Matt Bilinsky called it a “flimsy hit piece” that “continues to try to lower the bar on what constitutes a ‘public controversy’ vs. private concerns.” Saying the story was “well-written, engaging, and interesting,” nutritionist Alex Leaf was more measured: “It was also something of a high school hit-piece. Everyone has shadows, and nothing in this article relates to Huberman’s ability to discuss scientific topics at length via his podcast or otherwise.” In Slate, medical writer Andrea Love countered by unpacking Huberman’s reliance on pseudoscience: “Whether or not you care about infidelity and hosts’ personal lives, listeners to Huberman’s podcast should not sweep aside the contents of the New York mag story as mere gossip … I can tell you that he is leading his podcast audience astray, too.” Investigative journalist Scott Carney, who was interviewed for the story, later uncovered that Huberman had “hired a very expensive crisis PR team” that is “busily seeding information to conservative media outlets and aims to spin the story to discredit the women … If you were looking for a conspiracy theory around powerful entities with hidden motives, maybe start with the people we know who are actually involved with that.” Many readers argued that Huberman’s treatment of women is relevant given his role as a lifestyle influencer with a largely male fan base. Tech reporter Kat Tenbarge was “genuinely shocked to find out that people were treating this like gossip and not the jaw-dropping investigation and portrayal of psychological manipulation and duplicity that it is.” Science writer Danielle Carr questioned “the deep resistance to taking this kind of sociopathy against women seriously,” adding, “Sex that someone has under false pretenses (ie thinking they’re in a long term monog rltnshp) is not consensual!” And the story prompted New York Times columnist Ross Douthat to consider the current state of Me Too through three recent New York cover stories, including ones on polyamory and transgender rights. He asked “whether social liberalism can find a standard for sexual morality that’s better for human flourishing than bare consent, and a mechanism to constrain sexual misbehavior that’s more effective than the traditional emphasis on monogamy and chastity.”
2.
“The Eric Adams Smash-and-Grab”
Also in the issue, David Freedlander profiled the mayor’s aide turned lobbyist Frank Carone. Journalist Matthew Zeitlin said it was “one of the best stories about eric adams — or urban politics writ large — i’ve ever read,” while commenter cafelevy wrote, “Thank the Lord for David Freedlander and the very few other journalists who have been able to reveal what is happening behind the (apparently plush, Zero Bond) curtain in this freakishly transactional, public-spirit-bereft administration.” Hell Gate’s Christopher Robbins wrote, “Nothing to see here, just the former chief of staff to @NYCMayor living part-time at a 5-star resort in Florida, eating caviar for breakfast, vibing with the mayor’s criminal defense attorney at Cipriani,” and political operative Amanda Litman tweeted, “Eric Adams is so cartoonishly corrupt in ways that feel so brazen, so over-the-top, so obviously unethical and almost certainly illegal, that it feels impossible he can get away with it. And yet!” Max Rivlin-Nadler said Carone “is brazenly — and proudly! — selling access to City Hall to a growing client list, while bragging that because he’s AWARE of the law, he can’t be breaking it.” And commenter theone234x wrote that the Department of Justice “should send the author a fruit basket, because this may all end up as evidence in a future indictment down the line.”
Send correspondence to [email protected]. Or go to nymag.com to respond to individual stories.